by Layne, Lyssa
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Burst Into Flame by Lyssa Layne
Other Books by Lyssa Layne
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Epilogue
Sneak Peek at Love is a Fire
Acknowledgements
About the Author-Lyssa Layne
Guilty Until Proven Innocent by Deb Julienne
Other Books by Deb Julienne
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Sneak Peek at The Ride of His Life
About the Author-Deb Julienne
Unhurt by KS Thomas
Other Books by KS Thomas
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Epilogue
Just When You Thought the Story Was Over- Sneak Peek
About the Author-KS Thomas
Body, Ink, and Soul by Jude Ouvrard
Other Books by Jude Ouvrard
Important Notice Before Reading...
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Sneak Peek at Music, Ink and Love
Acknowledgements
About the Author-Jude Ouvrard
119 Days by RaeAnne Hadley
Other Books by RaeAnne Hadley
Dedication
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Sneak Peek at The Bachelorette's Heart
About the Author- RaeAnne Hadley
Call Me Cowboy by D'Ann Lindun
Other Books by D'Ann Lindun
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Sneak Peek at The Black Mountain Series
About the Author-D'Ann Lindun
Forever Love by Melissa Keir
Other Books by Melissa Keir
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Sneak Peek at A Christmas Accident
About the Author-Melissa Keir
Thank you and Tell a Friend
Holding a Hero
Lyssa Layne, Deb Julienne, K.S. Thomas, Jude Ouvrard, RaeAnne Hadley, D’Ann Lindun, Melissa Keir
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the prior consent of the publisher in any form other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
This is a work of fiction. Names, character, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction, distribution, or transmitted in whole or part in any form or means, or stored in any electronic, mechanical, database or retrieval system, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
Holding a Hero
Copyright 2016 (ebook and print edition) by Lyssa Layne, Deb Julienne, K.S. Thomas, Jude Ouvrard, RaeAnne Hadley, D’Ann Lindun, and Melissa Keir
Cover Design: Kim Killion
Burst Into Flame
Burning Lovesick #2
Lyssa Layne
OTHER BOOKS BY LYSSA LAYNE
The Right Pitch
Loved by the Linebacker
Fear of Striking Out
Another At Bat
Until You Fall In Love
Everybody’s After Love
My Favorite What If
Catch My Heart: A Valentine’s Day Collection
Love & Familgia: The DiDominzio Novellas
Dip Deep
Holding the Other
My Calling
Over the Fence
Burning Lovesick Series:
Love is a Fire
Burst Into Flame
Love Can’t Save You
Burst Into Flame: Burning Lovesick #2
Copyright © 2014 Lyssa Layne
“In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.”
-Albert Schweitzer
CHAPTER ONE
Dr. Katy Garrity hopped out of the St. Luke’s Roosevelt ambulance, stepping cautiously onto the sidewalk. Fire and glass rained down from the inferno in the high rise building. Heat fanned from the fire, but Katy stood frozen watching the scene unfold in front of her.
A child’s screams could be heard above the sirens and splashes of water from the violent stream of the firemen’s hose sprayed the doctor’s cheeks. The stench of burnt plastic and wood filled her nose while soot and ashes now covered Katy’s chestnut ponytail, which was whipping against her face in the wind. Her eyes stung from the smoke that hung heavily in the air she was breathing.
Jolted forward by a passing paramedic, Katy snapped back to reality shaking her head. She rubbed her shoulder where her co-worker had run into her and looked at the triage area. Instead of heading to the red or yellow patients, her feet took her to the black section. Black meant the victims were already dead.
Her eyes scanned quickly searching for one fireman. Her stomach settled when she didn’t see who she was looking for. Satisfied for the moment that her heart wasn’t broken again, she returned to the red patients who were in need of immediate attention.
Seconds, minutes, hours passed and she cared for burn after burn until she couldn’t see straight anymore. The smell of burnt skin and the cries of the victims as she cleaned each wound were not things that would easily wash away when her shift ended. Tears had stung her eyes as she treated the first of the victims but now she was numb. Numb to their pain, numb to her compassion, numb and ready for the night to be over.
A commotion behind her broke her concentration. She heard firefighters screaming and shouting as they ran out of the building. She turned her attention to them and there was the fireman she’d been looking for earlier—slumped lifelessly between the two men calling for help.
Her pulse pounded loudly in her ears, blocking out everything, and her eyes focused only on the man in front of her. Sprinting to the injured fireman, Katy did her best to remain calm. Her finger pressed against his carotid artery, feeling for a pulse. Nothing. She moved her fingers checking for it again. Still nothing.
Her body trembled as panic took her over. She shook his shoulders trying to rouse him but his head bounced lifelessly. A pot belly pushed against her from behind; a man was wrapping his arms around her and pulling her away. She thrashed her arms and legs trying to get out of his hold, but he only squeezed her tighter. Watching them take the lifeless man away, she cried out, “Jesse!”
***
Jesse O’Neil dumped cold water over his dark hair and shook his damp locks. Another warehoused building fire meant a long night on the job and more than enough smoke inhalation for a lifetime. The fire was dying down now, leaving the lights from the fire engine to illuminate the night. Refilling his cup with more water, he took a long drink as his phone beeped in his pocket. Pulling it out, he read the text.
Everything okay?
He sighed. It was Katy Garrity, his best friend’s wife. Texting back, he typed: I’m fine. Another dream?
Not getting an immediate response, Jesse crumbled the cup in his hand and tossed it on the ground. When he turned around, Patrick Doyle ran into him. Shoving Doyle against the fire truck, Jesse fisted his shirt and moved his face within inches of the other man’s. “Watch where you’re going, asshole.”
Immediately, Lieutenant Dan Murphy, or Murph as the guys called him, pulled Jesse off the younger fireman. “Come on, O’Neil, let him go.”
Doyle avoided making eye contact with Jesse just like he always did since the accident. The accident that Doyle caused that killed his best friend, Nick Garrity. It had been over a year ago, but Jesse hadn’t let it go and he wasn’t sure he ever would. The whole situation pissed him off—losing his best friend, watching Katy’s heartbreak, and knowing her son was being raised without a father. Jesse shoved Doyle one more time then walked away before he did something he would regret.
Murph followed him and patted his back. “Jesse, you’re going to have to let it go.”
Jesse spun around to face Murph, his eyebrows furrowed and anger seethed in his eyes. “Let it go? He’s responsible for killing the best firefighter Engine 58’s ever seen! We should have let him quit when he asked.”
Murph shook his head. “You don’t mean that. Garrity put his life on the line for that kid. If he quit then, Nick he would have done it for no reason. It’s our job now to make him one of the best we have on our crew.” Murph clamped his hand on Jesse’s shoulder and squeezed tightly. “Jesse, you need to do this for Nick.”
Jesse scowled and slammed his hands on the fire engine, knowing Murph was right. Walking away from his crew, he pulled out his cell and called Katy. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm his nerves before she picked up.
On the second ring, Katy answered in a hushed whisper. “This one was so real,” she said in a hoarse voice that let him know she’d been crying.
Jesse knew about the dreams—well nightmares—where she relived Nick’s death time and time again.
“It’s okay, Kate. You can tell me about it when I get home, okay?”
He heard her sniffle on the other end of the line. “No, Jesse, it wasn’t Nick this time...it was you.”
Jesse’s stomach dropped at her words. After losing her husband, Jesse had promised himself to never let her hurt again. He’d planned to do everything in his power to make her feel safe, but apparently he had no control over it, just as Nick hadn’t.
CHAPTER TWO
Steam filled the small bathroom as Jesse flipped the water off. It had been one helluva day and that was putting it lightly. They’d been on the warehoused building call for the majority of their twenty-four hour shift. He was relieved to get home before Katy left for work.
Reaching for a pink towel that hung on the rack, he laughed and shook his head. When Nick and Katy first married, his buddy had told Katy to make herself at home. Nick had told her to get pink towels for the bathroom but Katy wasn’t the one who’d bought the towels. It was something only Nick would do.
Wrapping the unmanly rectangle of terrycloth around his waist, he wiped the condensation off the mirror. As he shook his wet hair, water droplets rolled over Fir Na Tine, Braithre thar Gach Ni, the words that were tattooed on his muscular back. The Gaelic phrase translated to: Men of Fire, Brothers Above All Else. It was why in the peak of his bachelorhood, he had stopped his life and become the man of Nick Garrity’s house.
Jesse took in a deep breath and could smell Katy’s peach scent around him. It was one of his favorite things about moving in. He could smell her in every room he entered and the scent followed him when he left the house. Katy never left him which was exactly what he wanted.
Jesse’s pulse raced as he thought about the woman he loved but the excitement quickly faded as he recalled she was still his buddy’s wife—well widow. He knew he shouldn’t love her. His crew wouldn’t approve, but more importantly, he had no clue where he stood with Katy. His head hung in shame as he recalled proclaiming his love in the cemetery less than a month ago on the anniversary of Nick’s death. Trying to forget the memory, he was startled when the bathroom door flung open and collided with his foot. He muttered an expletive to hide the pain in his throbbing toe.
“Oh Jesse! I’m so sorry! I heard the water go off and I thought you were done in here.” Katy spoke quickly and nervously. Her fingers lightly brushed his arm and his pulse picked up speed again. Jesse moved his hands to her hips taking in the sight of her wearing spandex hot pants and an oversized FDNY shirt. Seeing her in this outfit every night made his mind go to places it shouldn’t.